How to Tell a Secret
by Arsha Clarek
Summary: Everyone gradually finds out about the secret revealed in "Enemy on the Hill," So this contains SPOILERS!
1. Ducky

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS...otherwise you wouldn't see me here. I write this purely for my (and hopefully) others enjoyment.

First off, I LOVED the past two weeks of NCIS! Anyone else? But that brings me to my second point: (SPOILER)this entire story is going to be a compiliation of when Abby tells everyone she's adopted and how they react, including Kyle himself. I'm writing this as I go, when I can so don't expect anything regular.

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><p>It was a few weeks later when Ducky brought up the subject. He was the first one to do so, after Abby had suddenly reverted back to her happy, peppy, filled-to-the-brim-with- Caf-Pow self after her slight bought of uncertainty and distraction.<p>

The two scientists were seated in her lab over an impromptu lunch between the case they had just finished and the case they knew wasn't too far behind. For the first time in a few hours, her mind drifted to the subject of her brother and parents, and Ducky, being Ducky noticed it immediately.

"My dear, what has you so troubled?" He asked extending a hand to cover hers. She jumped slightly at his touch having been so lost in her reverie. This behavior was so unusual for the young goth, the old M.E. was getting concerned.

She sighed. " I'm sorry Ducky...it's just..."she shook her head, unable to express through words what was going on in her head, in her mind.

"This wouldn't have anything to do with that brother of yours, would it?" Abby's head snapped up to stare at Ducky.

He leaned back in his chair crossing his arms in front of his chest, and spoke softly. "Whatever happened to make you this upset?"

Abby suddenly felt very anxious and unable to keep still. So she paced. She stood up and walked around her lab as she frantically explained everything that happened. Her brother, the adoption, and all the contradictions that were splitting her mind into two. How she wanted to have grown up with her birth parents, and yet how she didn't want to go against the parents that had adopted and raised her. How she wondered how her life would have been different if she had grown up with her birth parents, and knowing that she may not have ended up at NCIS.

And that scared her.

"Ducky I don't know what to do….what to feel! Like, I know I shouldn't feel alone, but I do. Why wouldn't my parents tell me? Did Luca know? Now, I know that my brother Luca isn't my brother. That Kyle, a man I've met only a couple of times in the past few weeks, is. And we look _so much_ alike…what if we're twins? "

Ducky let her rattle off a few more possibilities. When she started crying, however, he choose to intervene, taking a firm, yet kind hold of her shoulders. "Abby…Abby, look at me. Luca will always be your brother, no matter what unfolds. You two have been through far too much to ever just separate. You have gained this…Kyle…as a brother, and his parents. Someday, not necessarily soon, you two will accept each other as family as you have come to accept the NCIS team as family. Everything _will be fine._"

Abby took a shuddering breath and smiled slowly through the last of her tears. She launched herself at the man she had come to love as a grandfather and relished as he wrapped his warm and surprisingly strong arms around her. She laid her head on his shoulder and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"_Everything will be fine." _

Ducky was the first to know, but only because Ducky was the first one to ask.

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><p>Okay, so there's the first chapter. I still plan to do a chapter with Tim, Tony, maybe Ziva and if I think of anything, Jimmy(?) and finally Kyle (cause Gibbs already knows). please pLeAsE PlEaSe PLEASE...okay now that sounds weird...review!<p>

Thanks for reading!

-Arsha


	2. Tony

DIsclaimer: I don't own NCIS, Into the Woods, or Bye Bye Birdie so please don't sue me for money I don't have.

I'm sorry this took me so long! School is kinda crazy. Hopefully that's enough said. Without further ado, here is chapter 2!

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><p>Tony didn't need to ask. He just knew.<p>

She was very good at keeping all those family distractions away from work-she simply blocked them out of her mind. But today was different. It was late on a Saturday night, and Tony was asking (on behalf of Gibbs) to run a test that she felt she had already completed too many times.

It was time like this, in between tests that Abby's mind became crowded with questions.

_Why didn't they want me? Why did they keep Kyle? Who _were_ my parents? Why didn't Mom and Dad tell me I was adopted?_

Tony was seated next to her in the dark lab. He sighed. Tony hated seeing her like this. It just wasn't…Abby. He knew what it was about almost immediately.

Kyle.

So of course he had to find a way to cheer her up. He approached Abby's slouched form at the desk and enveloped her in a hug wrapping his arms across her middle and drew her back to his chest and held tight. Instead of the giggle and squirm to face him in the front he expected, he was surprised to feel her hold his arms even closer and her chin come down on them, hugging him back.

"Oh, Abbs…Don't let this get you down."

"I know, I know Tony. This is a good thing. It's just a _weird_ good thing. A weird good thing that takes a lot of time to get used to." She said quietly. "And my parents aren't around to tell me whats going on. Or why, or how."

Tony pulled her down to the ground and held her against him while the test ran over head.

"Hey Abby, you remember that play you rented on DVD last year?" Tony asked softly as she took comfort in the simple fact that he was there.

"I don't know…"that play" is very vague. Do you mean Bye Bye Birdie?"

"No, Into the Woods. With Bernadette Peters. Near the end Cinderella sings to Red Riding Hood, remember?" Feeling her nod against his chest, he began to sort-of sing.

"_Mother cannot guide you_

_Now your on your own._

_Only we beside you,_

_Still, you're not alone._

_No one is alone. Truly. _

_No one is alone."_

"_Sometimes people leave you,_

_Halfway through the wood._

_Others may deceive you._

_You decide what's good._

_You decide alone._

_But no one is alone_."

"Mother isn't here now

Who knows what she'd say?

_Nothings quite so clear now._

_Feel you've lost your way?"_

_You decide but _

_No one is alone._

_Believe me, no one is alone."_

Abby had sat against Tony for a little while in silence. The silence of the dark night was interrupted by a "ding," from the machine overhead. Still Abby didn't move.

"You will _never, EVER,_ be alone, Abby." He said as he pulled her to her feet and kissed her cheek. He grabbed the freshly-printed results and began to walk out leaving her to think. She stopped him halfway there.

"Tony," Her voice was hoarse and scratchy. She gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

He smiled back, and gave little nod before exiting via the elevator. She may have a new brother in her life, but both of them knew he would always be _her _Tony_. _He would always be there, be ready and be knowing.

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><p>I really don't know how I did on this one. I wish it could be better, but I'm at that point where I don't know <em>how.<em>

And that's where you fine folks come in: let me know via that magic little buttom at the bottom of the page. For all of you who are authors on this site or otherwise, you know how great reviews are...pass on that feeling!

Love, Arsha


	3. Jimmy

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS at all. I do this purely for my own (and hopefully others) enjoyment.

I thought I'd post the chapter I've had finished for a while as a Christmas/ holiday present to all of you. I hope you all like it!

Has anyone else noticed that Belisarius is introducing all these new topics, then completely abandoning them? Y'know, Abby's brother, Tony's hospital incident (I'm sure he would have had *some* recovery time), Ducky's romance with Mary (Again, recovery time should have been there)...anyone else see this or is it just me being crazy?

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><p>Abby was beginning to accept the fact that she now had more than Luca as a brother. She was less depressed, less unsure. She didn't talk about Kyle at work.<p>

That was, until certain medical assistant came into the picture.

"Ah, Jimmy! I have those results right here…" she said spinning around, pigtails whipping, trying to locate said tests.

"Uh, I'm not here for the test, Abby." He said causing her to look at him with a confused look on her face.

"What *are* you here for then, Palmer?" she asked, leaning against the desk.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I…wanted to talk."

"Okay, I have…" she glanced at her watch. "…probably ten minutes, fifteen minutes tops. What's up?"

"I-I uh, I" HE stammered. He hadn't told anyone save Dr. Mallard about this.

"What is it?"

He took a deep breath and just blurted "I know what you're going through."

She gave him a confused face, and he internally winced. He didn't want to just blurt it out, but to ease into the subject gently. Abby, however, didn't seem to notice.

"A-About what?"

"I recognize your behavior. Nervous, slightly depressed, almost doubtful, and very family oriented. Did you realize how many times you've hugged me in the past few weeks? I mean you hug Agent Gibbs and DiNozzo and McGee all the time, but *me*? I mean, it's not a bad thing, it's a natural reaction…"

"Reaction to what, Palmer?" she asked in a hushed tone.

"To being adopted. It's how I reacted." Abby felt her stomach drop.

"You were…adopted?" she whispered even softer than the first time, forgetting the initial accusations she had meant to defend herself from.

"Yeah." He said simply. No one spoke for a few moments after that. Then Abby broke the silence.

"When did you find out?"

"I was thirteen. I had to do a genealogy project for school. So, I asked my mom If I could look through the attic. Found my adoption papers instead. I asked my mom what they were and they explained everything. M y birth mother couldn't take care of me as well as she knew she should, so she put me up for adoption."

"What did you do?" she asked like it was a suspenseful movie.

"I went to meet my birth-mother. I was probably one of the best things I have ever done. I now had two sets of parents who helped me through my teen years. My birth mother was the one who got me into becoming a Medical Examiner."

"How?" Abby asked.

"That is a long story. Let me just say that she was in law enforcement and I tagged along a few times and asked *a lot* of questions." He smiled. "But that's not my point. Don't be afraid to take a chance.'kay?"

She nodded, grinning. He started to make his way out. Before he reached the door, he turned around.

"Hey Abby, if you ever need someone to talk to about all of this y'know, someone who gets where you're coming from…"

"I'll know who to come to." She finished. He nodded and turned again.

"Jimmy wait!" She called out, causing him to face her yet again. By the time he faced her she was already standing in front of him.

"Yes?"

She threw her arms around his neck, pulled him close and whispered, "Thanks."

"No problem." He said and hugged her back. Once upon a time, he would have been glad to hug her, because she was beautiful and enchanting. Now it just felt right to make a friend feel better.

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><p>Bad ending, I know, but I didn't know what else to write. R&amp;R please!<p>

I hope you and your loved one's have a very happy and healthy holiday and New Year!

With love, Arsha


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